Feature by Alice Cary

Every year I look forward to adding a few gems to my family's collection of Christmas books, and my latest is Patricia Polacco's An Orange for Frankie. This moving tale of days gone by reminds me of another holiday favorite, Cynthia Rylant's Silver Packages, both books that feature trains, sacrifices and boys named Frankie.Polacco's 10-year-old Frankie based on the childhood of her own...

Invitation to a family reunion

Not surprisingly, beloved author Patricia Polacco's latest book for young readers, When Lightning Comes in a Jar revolves around the theme of family. "Family means a great deal to me," notes Polacco, speaking from a hotel in Virginia where she is visiting schools to share her books with children. "It's the cornerstone of...

A picture book about the Holocaust? A tricky undertaking, to say the least. Not surprisingly, Patricia Polacco pulls it off. The beloved author and illustrator adds The Butterfly to a long list of extraordinary books for children, such as Pink and Say, Thundercake, Mrs. Katz and Tush, and The Keeping Quilt. The Butterfly tells the true story of an incident in the life of Polacco's aunt, Monique...